Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 February 2019
60. Deputy Clare Daly asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the action he has taken in relation to the continued failure of the Pyrite Resolution Board to bring forward a resolution to issues in relation to the interpretation of sections 15 and 17 of the Pyrite Resolution Act 2013. [8400/19]
View answerThe Pyrite Resolution Act 2013 provides the statutory framework for the establishment of the Pyrite Resolution Board and for the making of a pyrite remediation scheme to be implemented by the Board with support from the Housing Agency. The pyrite remediation scheme is a scheme of “last resort” for affected homeowners, who have no other practical option to obtain redress and is limited in its application and scope. The full conditions for eligibility under the scheme are set out in the scheme which is available on the Board’s website, www.pyriteboard.ie.
The scheme is applicable to dwellings which are subject to significant damage attributable to pyritic heave established in accordance with I.S. 398-1:2017 - Reactive pyrite in sub-floor hardcore material – Part 1: Testing and categorisation protocol. It is a condition of eligibility under the scheme that an application to the Board must be accompanied by a Building Condition Assessment with a Damage Condition Rating of 2. Dwellings which do not have a Damage Condition Rating of 2 are not eligible to apply under the scheme. This ensures that, having regard to the available resources, the focus of the scheme is on dwellings which are most severely damaged by pyritic heave. I have no proposals to amend this eligibility criterion.
Where a dwelling, otherwise not eligible for inclusion in the scheme, adjoins a dwelling already included in the scheme, such a dwelling may be considered in accordance with the exceptional circumstance provisions set out in section 17 of the Act. Section 17 provides that exceptional circumstances may apply where:
- failure to include a dwelling in the scheme may result in damage to that dwelling or damage to the dwelling being remediated under the scheme, or
- pyrite remediation work is causing or may cause damage to a dwelling.
The Housing Agency will consider if exceptional circumstances apply when the Remedial Works Plan is being drawn up and the Board will be informed of any recommendation for a decision in the matter. To date, one dwelling has been included in the pyrite remediation scheme under the exceptional circumstances provisions of the Act.
In relation to section 15 of the Act, the restriction in Section 15(3) of the Act preventing applications being made under the scheme by a person who purchases a dwelling on or after 12 December 2013 (the publication date of the Pyrite Remediation Bill), applies where that person knew or ought to have known that the dwelling was constructed using hardcore containing reactive pyrite. Following a number of requests for clarification on this matter, my Department sought legal advice from the Office of the Attorney General on the Board’s interpretation of Section 15(3). It is my Department’s view, informed by the legal advice received on the matter, that Section 15(3) does not represent a blanket exclusion preventing applications being made under the scheme by a person who purchases a dwelling on or after 12 December 2013 and that it is a matter for the Board to determine, based on facts and evidence in each individual case, whether an applicant is or is not entitled to apply for inclusion into the Pyrite Remediation Scheme.
The Board was notified of my Department’s view on the matter. However, it is important to note that, in accordance with the provisions of the Act, the Board is independent in the performance of its functions, and as Minister, I have no role in the operational matters relating to the implementation of the scheme. The Board may be contacted directly by phone at Locall 1890 252842 or by email to info@pyriteboard.ie or alternatively at oireachtasinfo@pyriteboard.ie.
